Audubon at Home in Northern Virginia
www.audubonva.org
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With 6,000 species worldwide, adult lady beetles, ladybugs, or ladybird beetles, are among the most familiar insects in the garden. They
are beetles, of the order Coleoptera, not true bugs of Hemiptera. The
most visible are red & orange with black spots, although colors vary
widely - only about 70 of the 450 species found in North America
have this traditional coloring. Others are smaller and mostly black.
Valued worldwide as beneficial insects providing natural pest control,
their name in Iran means “good news”, in Switzerland “God’s little
fatty” and the name Lady Beetle comes from “Beetles of our Lady”,
the Virgin Mary. More than 170 species have been introduced into the
U.S. for natural pest control, as both adults and larvae feed on small
insects such as aphids. Some introductions may cause problems (see
“Other” for info.). A common native is the Convergent Lady Beetle
(Hippodamia convergens). Two other Northern VA natives are the
Two-spotted Lady Beetle (Adalia bipunctata) and the Spotted Lady
Beetle (Coleomegilla fuscilabris). Patterns vary - for consistent ID of
adults markings on the pronotum (plate between head and body) are
most reliable. Pesticides, loss of native plants and possibly the spread
of introduced exotic lady beetles have led to the decline in several
native species. The virtual disappearance of one local native, the
Nine-spotted Ladybug (Coccinella novemnotata), state insect of New
York, led to a remarkable new citizen science project called the Lost
Lady-bug Project. The good news is this species was just found for
the 1st time in the east since 1992 right here in Arlington County! The
project is being run by Cornell University (see “Resources”), known
for its ornithology lab and support of bird conservation.
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Audubon at Home in Northern Virginia
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*Above photo credits: eggs-Charles Olsen,
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